Ashes equal Rebirth
by Miss.Shapley
Summary: A pure white envelope with beautiful black inked cursive handwriting on the front saying simply… …turns the envelope over and in small dark red inked cursive handwriting is written…nothing else not even a proper address… Read if you want to know what's between the dots ;)
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1:** _The Cendres Famillie_

It started off as a normal day for Sasagawa Kyoko. She got up at exactly 6:30am like she always does to make breakfast -not only for herself but for her elder brother and of course her best friend who would arriving in exactly, she looks to the clock, 10 minutes.

It's not everyday Hana came over for breakfast but on Tuesday mornings she always does. She arrives at exactly 6:40 and is never a second late, that's something through their long years of friendship that Kyoko has learnt and come to appreciate about her much more mature friend; she doesn't like being late. Hana has always been like that, always punctual and organised. In another's eyes their friendship would seem weird but not to Kyoko or Hana, they understood each other perfectly. From their family background and problems to their personalities and hobbies. Personality-wise they may seem completely different but they are exactly the same in certain aspects but in others completely different; Kyoko loves socialising while Hana hates it, they both cannot stand liars and are completely honest with their opinions -Hana being blunt while Kyoko slightly more subtle-, Kyoko is too trusting while Hana is much too distrusting, and of course they both dislike being the damsel in distress. Though, parts of their personalities may seem different they completely balance each other out.

Kyoko hums a happy tune as she muses in her memories and makes a simple breakfast; steamed rice and tamogoyaki. She might not be the best of cooks but she knows what her family likes. A content smile spreads easily on her lips, she really couldn't have wished for anything in her simple life. She has an elder brother who she loves with all of her heart -but sometimes he is too overprotective- and the 'best' best friend anyone could wish for -and honestly Hana is like the sister Kyoko always wished to have-.

She doesn't need anything else, in the past she wished that her parents would be around more instead of on their 'so-called-business-trips' but she doesn't need them anymore.  
>She's happy with her life.<p>

Another smile spreads upon her lips as she hears the tattle tale signs of Hana's graceful footsteps sounding outside and the sudden thump on the floorboards above -the sign that Ryohei has gotten up and would be down in another 15 or 10 minutes.

"Morning Kyoko", the purple haired female greets with her usual voice, mixed with her unique sarcastic and slightly lazy drawl which she just can't seem to get rid of -and believe me they have tried-, "You've got a letter from France". Hana arches an elegant eyebrow -and Kyoko isn't ashamed to say she has always been jealous of Hana's ability to do that-, "I wasn't aware that you had family in France"

A surprised and slightly interested glow emerges in Kyoko's eyes, "Family in France? That's new"

"At least I think they are your family"

Kyoko sends a questioning glance towards her while serving up three bowls of rice and three rolls of tamogoyaki on small plates.

"It has 'Cendres Famillie' written as the sender on the envelop, and 'famillie' is French for family"

Kyoko finishes off plating the food and brings over two bowls to the table while Hana grabs the last bowl and takes one of the plates over and Kyoko brings the last two plates to the table. Hana gets the drinks -one iced coffee for her, a glass of orange juice for Kyoko and milk for Ryohei as Kyoko refuses to let him have a sports drink for breakfast- as Kyoko takes a look at the envelope sitting on the table.

A pure white envelope with beautiful black inked cursive handwriting on the front saying simply 'Kyoko Sasagawa'. Kyoko turns the envelope over and in small dark red inked cursive handwriting is written 'Cendres Famillie, Paris, France', nothing else not even a proper address, and lastly on the tip of the envelope was a dark red wax seal with a simple engraving of a dove entangled in vines on it.

"Are you going to open it?", Hana questions from over Kyoko's shoulder.  
>"Open what?"<p>

A blurry eyed and yawning Ryohei emerges walking down the stairs clad in his uniform, with the tie tied loosely around his neck.

"A letter from France", Kyoko replies furrowing her eyebrows slightly and puts the envelope away inside a oak drawer behind her, "I'll open it tonight"

Hana and Ryohei nod in unison before Ryohei sits at the head of the table and begins digging into his meal.

"This is delicious, Kyoko" He speaks from beneath large mouthfuls.

Hana rolls her eyes at the typical unsightly appearance and sits down on the left side of Ryohei, taking small bites as in contrast to Ryohei's much larger ones.

Kyoko smiles at her family's antics and too sits down -but on the right side of Ryohei-, but not before sending an almost wistful glance at the oak drawer which does not go unnoticed by Hana.

"Don't worry Kyoko, the letter will still be here in the afternoon", Hana rolls her eyes, "It's not like a letter can grow legs and run away"

In just a second Kyoko's worries are blown away.

Yes, it isn't like the letter will just run away.  
>But it can be stolen.<p>

Just like what Kyoko does every day when she arrives at school in the mornings she greets all of her classmates with a smile and in her usual happy tone, which many think is fake but Hana and Ryohei know better.

"Good morning Tsuna-kun" She smiles brightly at her classmate, "And Yamamoto-kun and Gokudera-san", greeting the other two males.

"Morning Kyoko-chan and Sasagawa-san"

The latter female merely nods in a simple greeting to the young, and soon to be, Vongola boss but it's not like Hana would know that.  
>Not all, internally Hana rolls her eyes; honestly she feels insulted.<p>

"Woman, the tenth greeted you it's only common courtesy that you reply in the same manner!" Gokudera says -as always- easily agitated.

Hana opens her mouth to respond with a biting remark of her own.  
>"Ma, ma, don't make a big deal it was only a greeting" Yamamoto, like always, tries to diffuse the situation.<p>

Kyoko merely laughs at the normal antics but soon pauses as she feels a sudden urge to return home. She doesn't know what is making her feel so uneasy and why she is feeling so uneasy all of a sudden. It's odd but not unusual for her, occasionally she gets these urges that she has to go somewhere or do something and she follows these urges and normally they are important, but it is the first time that she has ever felt this uneasy.

Walking over to her classroom window, she gazes into the general direction of her home and fortunately she sees nothing of importance and walks away. She pauses mid-step, causing Hana to look over in slight worry, and looks back over her shoulder to the general direction of her home.  
>Smoke.<br>The letter.

Without as much of a warning Kyoko starts to run out of the classroom.

"Kyoko?!"

Without stopping -or turning back- in her sprint, Kyoko shouts only two words to her friend.

"The letter"

A crease emerges between Hana's eyes as she notices Kyoko from the corner of her eyes look out the window, following her gaze she finds that Kyoko was staring in the rough direction of her house. Hana knows that look and it makes her feel uneasy, something bad always happens when Kyoko has that expression on her face.

Her eyes are abnormally serious and distant, her teeth gnawing at her lips in complete and utter irritation.

A sense of relief floods through Hana's body as Kyoko walks away from the window, her expression turning back into the one she is used to seeing on Kyoko. Easing back into her conversation -more like amusing herself with their conversation- with the two monkeys, Hana almost misses the orange blur that is Kyoko as she sprints past. A sense of dread emerges in the pit of her stomach; the expression is back on.

"Kyoko?!"

Only two words are said in response but they are enough to send Hana sprinting after her before pausing and turning her head to look at the bewildered Sawada.

"Sawada, tell sensei that Kyoko isn't feeling well and I'm taking her to the hospital"

She sprints off without even bothering to hear his response because she knows that he will do it for Kyoko.

She doesn't know why the letter is so important but her instinct is telling her that it is important and she would do well not to lose it.

Popular to contrary belief, Kyoko is not as naive as one thinks of her. She knows that her brother and Tsuna along with their friends are hiding something, and with Hana's encouragement and help they found out what.

The Vongola Famiglia, an Italian mafia. The strongest mafia family in the world.

Famillie. Family

The Cendres Famillie.  
>French.<br>Famiglia=family, Famille=family.  
>Mafia.<br>The Cendres Famillie isn't just a family but a mafia family.

Kyoko groans, she's so stupid; but the question is why is a French family sending her a message.

"Kyoko! Dammit wait up!"

Looking over her shoulder Kyoko blinks in innocent surprise.

"Hana?" Kyoko questions as she slows down to a jog.

Said female rolls her eyes in annoyance, "Why are you surprised?", picking up her pace to a sprint as soon she reaches Kyoko, "Hurry up, you have one of those urges, right?"

Kyoko smiles, she really shouldn't be so surprised with Hana anymore.

* * *

><p>New story! Whoop! First things first I won't be updating this as much as I want to focus on 'The Unknown Prisoner' but if I didn't post this I probably would never and a (late) New Years resolution of mine is to publish more of my work -and to finish them of course. Review, favourite or follow, pick one to do or two or -three-. Have a good nightmorning :)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Fire

Bright red is the only colour Kyoko can see.

The only colour that consumes her entire vision.

That's all she can see of her home, just bright red flames dancing chaotically over what was once called her home. It's gone, the place she called home for the last 16 years has vanished, burned to nothing.

She should've came earlier, she should've known to trust her 'urges' or instinct.

Her hands clench into fists -so

very unlike her- and her teeth grind against one another, while an emotion she is not used to consumes her. Anger, pure and untainted anger, an animalistic rage. Whoever burnt down her house obviously didn't care about anything else and what damage they cause to anyone else. Her eyes turn their gaze to the screaming mother, who lives beside her, and immediately notices her 2 years old daughter isn't with her.

"She's still in the house" Hana's voice, laced with concern, breaks Kyoko's thoughts, "The daughter is still in the house"

Not even a trace of surprise shows in Kyoko's eyes after all Hana has always been an observer. Turning her gaze to the neighbouring house almost fully consumed by red flames,Kyoko only thinks for a moment before she launches forward into the direction of the house.

"K-Kyoko!?"

A small smile slides onto her lips, worry is not something Kyoko has heard from Hana in a long time.

* * *

><p>She gnaws relentlessly on her lips, almost drawing blood, as she watches the burning house and more than once Hana looks at her watch. Only 30 seconds have gone past but they are the most gut wrenching 30 seconds she has ever lived and Kyoko is still not out. Impatiently she looks at her watch, only 3 seconds has gone past since she's last looked and Hana is beyond worried.<p>

"Where is the Cendres heir?"

Hana raises her head slightly at the question.

"Heiress. Marcel"

A lazy drawl is the response, and Hana can hear the sigh in the voice, obvious signs the latter has said the words to the former numerous times.

"I don't care. Heir, heiress, they're all the same thing in the end. Just things that we are ordered to kill"

She stiffens and Hana wants to turn but she knows it wouldn't be the smartest thing to do, the smart thing to do would be to hide and to observe. Observation is something she can do and is something she happens to be incredibly good at, years of experience will do that to someone.

"What does she look like?"

"We weren't given a photo nor could we find one"

Hana silently breathes a sigh of relief, if they don't what she looks like they are safe for the time being.

"But we do know the last name, Sasagawa"

Not the first name?

Another touch of good luck.

"Records of the family in this city have been wiped. Not just this one but all Sasagawas' in the country"

All of them?

The Cendres family must be an incredibly influential mafia family to manage such a feat.

"How do we know this is the right family?"

"We traced the ancestry back to France. It took a very long time but Rochelle finally got it"

Rochelle.

That's a name Hana must file away for future reference.

Marcel and Rochelle.

"Which one is she?"

Hana feels eyes bore into her back.

"My first guess would be her but I don't think so. She obviously doesn't have the mark nor the training of a mafia heiress, probably doesn't even know about the mafia, but she would make an excellent hit-woman or a strategist. You can just tell by her stance and her aura"

Those words are spoken much quieter than his other words but Hana can still hear him and she scoffs in her mind.

She isn't quite sure if she should take it as a compliment or not; the strategist one she's going take as a compliment, while the hit-woman…she isn't going to take that as a compliment.

"Secondly would be the black haired female on the right side of the burning house"

Hana takes a quick glance from the corner of her eyes and she can't help the quick furrow of her eyebrows. Miss Tikoto. The new music teacher.

"She has the smell of a killer, she has probably killed thousands before. Though, she doesn't seem interested at all with the fire…definitely not her. She's just left without a backward glance"

A killer.

Hana files that information into a different area, an area which Hana hopes she won't have to delve into again.

"Thirdly would be the mother, the tears seem fake, but that could be due to the fact that she doesn't particularly like her child"

Accurate assessment of the woman.

Hana has heard a lot of swearing from the woman when talking to her young child, but Hana would like to think the mother doesn't hate her child.

"And lastly would be the girl that went into the house. She has the bravery and courage a Cendres heiress needs, but that recklessness is something that would have been stomped out as soon as it appeared"

Recklessness?

"Recklessness?"

Thank you Marcel, that is exactly what Hana wants to know.

"The girl isn't reckless in the 'normal' sense but the Cendres has a different definition of 'reckless'. In their eyes one is reckless when they don't care about dying, that they don't value their life"

That statement is unfortunately Kyoko in a nutshell.

She'll throw her life away if she can save another with her life.

"Those my four suspects at the moment, but each one has a flaw, they all don't look like they have been trained, apart from my second guess although she looked self-trained"

Another piece of information to be filed away in the area which Hana hopes to never delve into.

"Aren't there two other Sasagawa families with French blood?"

That's Marcel asking.

"Yep. I don't think it's this family but we should stay for at least a week to find out of this family has a daughter"

Hana grimaces in her mind, the next week isn't going to be easy but first they need to get through today.

On another note Kyoko is definitely the heiress and if the Cendres Famille is anything like the Vongola then Kyoko has sky flames and she'll need six guardians. Five because Hana is definitely going to be a guardian, she doesn't care if they don't accept her because she will force them to accept her.

The second thing to do after surviving is to find five other guardians and also to find someone who knows about the 'Cendres', and possibly find tutors to teach them how to fight.

* * *

><p>Nearly out.<p>

Kyoko bites her lip in concentration as she goes through the path she mapped out in her head. She got the little girl after much effort and many burns, although she didn't get as much as she thought she would. She should thank her intuition for that, it's thanks to that that she found the path which has the least flames.

She never thought much of her intuition but now that she thinks back on it it's an attribute the Vongola Boss always has, it must be for the Cendres as well.

"Nee-chan, I can't breathe"

Kyoko doesn't respond to the younger girl's words and instead holds her closer to her chest, however she does move faster.

Only a little more and they're out.

Fate must truly be against because just when she saw the exit some of the ceiling fell in front of her, nearly crushing her or burning her. A piece of debris lodged itself neatly into her shoulder.

"Oh god"

She's going to die but Kyoko refuses to let the little girl die. Stubbornly she urges herself to move forward, trying desperately to not black out from pain and she thinks she has started praying.

God hasn't answered her prayers as her eyesight begins to see stars.

Pushing her body to its limits and she's nearly there when her eyelids close and she falters in her step.

She can't move any longer, she's done.

"So you're Sasagawa Kyoko. The tenth Heiress of my famille"

The voice sounds beautiful, almost like music to her ears. It's a light soprano voice, but contains this authority.

"Open your eyes and move. A heiress to the Cendres Famile is not weak, no, she is strong and beautiful. Strong in the mind, soul and body, as goes for her beauty. My predecessor will not be defeated by a mere fire. We are huntresses, dear Kyoko. We go down in the hunt, not by fire. Wake up and move"

We are huntresses.

Kyoko's eyes open up immediately and they flash a soft orange.

"Strong in the mind, soul and body, as goes for our beauty. We are huntresses"

She mutters the mantra and pushes forward.

"I am not weak. I am a huntress"

The soprano voice already out of her mind as she concentrates solely on getting out.

* * *

><p>A transparent figure sits comfortably on the lamppost, her white dress swaying in the wind. She brings her leg up so she can rest her cheek on her knee.<p>

Watching as her descendent gives the young girl back to her mother, she can't help but feel a surge of pride. The ninth Heiress picked the perfect huntress to take the name of the tenth Cendres Heiress, of course Sasagawa Kyoko does not know this yet. She does not yet know that she is a huntress.

Her gaze turns upon the best friend, Kurokawa Hana, who will no doubt be the drifting cloud that protects the family, however unlike the Vongola where the storm is traditionally the right-hand, anyone can be the right-hand in the Cendres. For the third time in ten generations it seems as though the cloud will be the right-hand, first in her generation, second in the fourth generation and third in the new generation.

"Hah"

She should probably stay in the real word for a little longer, just long enough to see the new Huntress' guardians. It is always intriguing to see the new generation and besides she has this sneaking feeling that this generation is going to be interesting.

Standing up, and as she does her light blonde hair trickles down her back to reach just below the light of the lamppost.

"You have my blessing Kyoko Sasagawa. Find your guardians and become a huntress"


End file.
